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Alphabet, parent company of Google, will lay off 12,000 workers: “We hire for a different economic reality than the current one””

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January 20, 2023

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sundar pichaiCEO of Google and its parent company, Alphabet, has surprised announcing the layoff of 12,000 Alphabet workers worldwide, in an open letter posted on the company’s blog. With this cut, which represents approximately 6% of its global workforce, Alphabet joins other technology giants that have announced layoffs in recent times, such as Meta, Twitter, Salesforce or Microsoft.

This is the full text of Pichai’s letter, which he sent by email to all his employees in the US:

googlers,

I have bad news to share. We have decided to reduce our workforce in approximately 12,000 roles. We have already sent an email to employees in the United States who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.

This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and loved working with. I am deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes affect the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.

In the last two years we have seen periods of dramatic growth. To adapt and feed that growth, We hire for a different economic reality than the one we face today.

I am confident of the great opportunity before us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI. To take full advantage of it, we will have to make difficult decisions. Therefore, we have conducted a rigorous review across product and feature areas to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we are removing reflect the outcome of that review. SThey extend to Alphabet, product areas, functions, tiers, and regions.

To the departing Googlers: Thank you for working so hard to help people and businesses everywhere. Their contributions have been invaluable and we are grateful.

Although this transition will not be easy, we will support employees as they search for their next opportunity.

In the U.S:

We will pay employees for the entire notice period (minimum 60 days). We will also offer a severance package starting at 16 weeks salary plus two weeks for each additional year at Google. We will pay 2022 bonuses and remaining time off. We will offer 6 months of medical care, job placement and immigration services for those affected Outside the United States, we will support employees in accordance with local practices.

As a company of almost 25 years, we are destined to go through difficult economic cycles. These are important times to sharpen our focus, restructure our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities.

Being limited in some areas allows us to bet big in others. The shift to an AI-centric company years ago led to revolutionary advances in our businesses and throughout the industry.

Thanks to those early investments, Google products are better than ever. And we’re getting ready to share entirely new experiences for users, developers, and businesses. We have a significant opportunity in front of us with AI in our products, and we are prepared to tackle it boldly and responsibly.

All of this work is a continuation of the “healthy contempt for the impossible” that has been essential to our culture from the beginning. When I look at Google today, I see that same spirit and energy driving our efforts. Because, I’m still optimistic about our ability to accomplish our mission, even on our most difficult days. Today is certainly one of them.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions about how we’re going to move forward. We will organize an assembly on Monday. Check your calendar for more details. Until then please take care as you absorb this difficult news. As part of that, if you are starting your work day, please feel free to work from home today.

This measure comes just three months after another of the leaders of the technology sector. Mark Zuckerberg, announced a similar measure in a letter to his employees. It explained how Meta would lay off 13% of its workforce, that is, more than 11,000 workers and that they would not hire new staff during the first quarter of 2023.

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